Scientists in the UK say they have developed a blood test that may help detect cancer in people with nonspecific signs and symptoms. The new blood test may enable early cancer detection of a low-risk patient group that is currently unlikely to be diagnosed at an early stage where intervention and treatment can contain the spread of the disease. The diagnostic challenge Detecting cancer in the early stages is critical for improving patient outcomes. Current cancer diagnosis and referral pathways are designed predominantly around organ-specific symptoms or clinically palpable abnormalities, such as breast lumps or abdominal masses. The problem is that there is no pathway for patients who present with nonspecific symptoms like fatigue or unexpected weight loss that may be associated with cancer. In many instances, these patients will undergo examination by their general practitioner (GP) physician who may not detect the cancer and instead advise the patient to come back later if the symptoms worsen. The result is that patients in this so-called “low-risk, but not no-risk” group go undiagnosed and miss out on the crucial benefit of early intervention. Often, by the time they do get diagnosed, their cancer is advanced. While it is difficult to determine […]